Ricky van Wolfswinkel features: Norwich City's 5 biggest transfer flop signings from recent times | OneFootball

As the new signings begin to settle at Norwich, the Canaries are hoping they don't turn out like these five players, where it just didn't work out.

With the transfer window closing last week, Norwich City will be hoping their new signings will settle in Norfolk, something the following players could never do.

Norwich have had some suspect signings over the years and will plan that their new signings for the 2024/25 campaign will succeed unlike this select few.

Whether they were underwhelming, forgettable or completely abysmal, these players certainly won't be showing their faces around Carrow Road anytime soon.

Here are five transfers from the post-2000 era who never lived up to the billing with the Canaries.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel - 2013

A player who had so much promise and hype, the Dutchman was seemingly bound to succeed at Carrow Road.

The striker impressed with Sporting Lisbon and after two years at the Portuguese side, he bagged an impressive 45 goals in 88 appearances, which very much excited the Canaries faithful.

At just the age of 24, he had made a name for himself in Holland, which got him the original move to Sporting.

After scoring the equaliser on his Norwich debut in a 2-2 draw versus Everton, Norwich fans thought they landed the jackpot after an £8.5 million fee was paid for the striker. Well, this wasn't the case.

That turned out to be his only ever Premier League goal for the Canaries, as Norwich suffered relegation.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel had loan spells in France and Spain before departing Norwich in 2016, for a return back to Holland at Vitesse.

Now, the Dutchman is still in his home country with FC Twente, where he has amassed an impressive 42 goals in 122 games - form Norwich never quite saw.

Michael Theoklitos - 2009

This one is certainly more on the bizarre side of transfers from the Canaries.

In 2009, Norwich picked up Australian goalkeeper Theoklitos after impressing with Melbourne Victory.

The shot-stopper (if that's what you can call him) made his debut in the opening game of the 2009/10 season against Colchester United.

Now, you've heard of bad debuts, but this was on another level.

Theoklitos conceded five goals before half-time itself and Norwich were humiliated 7-1 by their East Anglian rivals, as their return to the third tier after 50 years started horribly. Despite this, the Canaries still ended up winning the title that season.

However, the Australian never played for the club again, but was included in the squad for a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy game at Gillingham.

In 2012, he opted to change his name to Michael Theo, which Norwich fans saw as a way of changing his identity after his debut.

'Theo' has since become successful back in Australia with Brisbane Roar and is now an assistant coach at Nunawading City.

Ondrej Duda - 2020

In a more recent time, Norwich signed Duda on loan from Hertha Berlin in January 2020.

The Slovakian's time at Carrow Road went down for all the wrong reasons. There was a sense of relief when the winger was signed after having a standout season in the 2018/19 season in the Bundesliga.

However, Duda never made his impact. After ten appearances and zero goal contributions, the Canaries suffered relegation. Certainly more of an underwhelming capture by Norwich.

He did, however, star in Slovakia's bright EURO 2024 campaign, scoring against Romania in the group stages.

Steven Naismith - 2016

An experienced head in the footballing world, Naismith had a good spell with Everton before joining the Canaries in 2016 for a fee in the region of £8 million.

The striker was known for some key goals for the Toffees, including a hat-trick off the bench versus Chelsea in 2015. This never came to light at Carrow Road, unfortunately.

He scored just one goal in 13 games during the 2015/16 season, where Norwich once again were relegated.

The following season brought an unimpressive seven goals from 32 outings in all competitions, and with injuries playing a part, the Scotsman never hit the ground running and was loaned out to Hearts in 2018, where he is now the current manager.

Naismith spoke to The Athletic in 2020 about his unpleasant spell in East-Anglia.

"I never thought we’d go down. That’s when it slightly changed towards me. It was more a case of, ‘Right, let’s get him out, get some money back and move on’. But I wanted to be at the club. I wanted to help them get back.

"Very quickly when I came back from the summer, I realised it wasn’t going to be plain sailing. I wasn’t going to be one of the key players. That was made very clear."

A time the former Rangers man will want to forget for sure.

David Strihavka - 2007

The Czech striker signed a four-year contract with Norwich in 2007, following a successful campaign with Czech outfit Baník Ostrava, scoring 15 in 39 league outings.

However, his Canaries career didn't quite take flight.

Strihavka scored just once in 11 appearances before his contract was mutually terminated in January 2008.

Norwich never got the best out of Strihavka's qualities, as the striker stood at 6'3 and was lethal in the air from his time in the Czech Republic.

A lack of goals ultimately cost manager Peter Grant, who was sacked in October 2007 with Norwich having a dreadful 2007/2008 Championship campaign, finishing 17th.